David welsh



(No Mods a1.)-

D. WELSH.

FIRE ESCAPE. i No. 278,301. Patented May 22,1883.

l. min Phmnuihognphor, Wnhington. 0.6.

UNITEDSTATES q Davin wELsa, OF(WASHINGT()N,DISTRIOT or COLUMBIA.

Fl REFESCAPE.

To all whom it may concern: I

Beit known thatLDnvn) WELSH, of Waslr ington, in the District of Columbia, have inventedcertain Improvements in Fire-Escapes,

of which the following is aspecification.

t My inventionlrelates to fire-escapes; and I the invention consists in a jointed ladder se- I cured to, the buildingby means of swiveled yokes or armsinisuch manner that the ladder can be folded; up like a parallel ruler and secured when not required for use,.and so that I I a balance to the other side, and thus enable it all as lhereinafternnore fully set. forth. I

building, showing the ladder in position for a front view ofthe same closed up. Figs. 4,

detaiLl p i iron ladders attachedto buildings {have been A devised, the most of which consist of: ladders permanently attached to the outer walls of the buildings, whileothers consistof the, wella known jointedrladder arranged to have one side raised and: lowered by means of weights arranged inside of the building. lThe former are objectionable because they notonlydisdown insideiot'the building, or ofihaving tubes I built inthe walls for the. weightsto move in.

opened readyfor use by persons inside of the.

. building whenever required. a

The ladder consists of two side bars, B and 5o 0, of any required length and. form, but pref- 11f; erably. of theiform shown in Fig. 8,.and Of roundsD, pivoted attheir ends to these side onesideof the ladder shall serve as acounteri tobe opened "and closed with ease and facility,

Figure 1 isa frontview of, a portion of a use. Fig. 2 is a frontview of a portion of the;

. ladder detached, showing its construction. 1 Fig. is an edge view, showing the manner of attaching the ladder to the building, and also 5, 6, 7, and 8 are views of portions shown in figure the buildings, but also because of the facilities they afford. to burglars, while the lat- I te'r style are objectionable because of the. ne- 1 cessity forhaving the weights sliding up and The object or myzinvention istoprovide a1 simple form of 1 folding ladder, and so attach be closed up to prevent its use by burglars or- 1 srncrrrcnrlonqrormin partflofLetters Patent No. wagon-dat d May 22, less. a

iapplicationfiledFebruaryad1883. (Nomodeti bars, as 'shownclearly in Figs. 2, 3, 6, and 7. I It will be seen that a ladder thus constructed can be readily closedor shut by raising one of the bars until it is brought close up against the other, as represented in the right-hand part of Fig. 3, the movement being the same as that of the well-known parallel rule. By making the bars 13 G in the form transversely of a trough as represented in Figs. 8 and 2,it will be seen that when the ladder is closed, as represented in Fig. 3, the rounds D will be entirely inclosed within the cavity in the adjoin.-

ing faces of the two side bars, and that when in that condition the ladder will aflord no more facilityfor the ascent of a burglar than would a. flat bar of iron of the same size.

'Theladder thus constructed is secured to the wall A. of the building by means of two or more swiveled yokes, I, the form of which, is clearly shown in Figs.3 and 6. The yokes are secured to the building by a strong bolt, E, which extendsthrough the wall,and is securelyfastencd by a nut and washer,or in anycon a y I venient and suitable mannenwith a washer Various stylesof fire-escapes in the form of betweenthe yoke and wall, as shown. When thusarranged it will be seen that by turning the yokes into a vertical position, or nearly so, as shown in Figs?) and 7, the ladder will be closed, and that when the yokes are turned to a horizontal position the ladder will be opened ready for use, .as representedin, Figs. 2-and 6,

and these movements may be effected-by tak ing. hold of either sidebar and raising the one .or lowering the other.

beseenthat as the yokes are M It willreadily pivoted on thebolts E at their center,or nearly so, the one sideof the ladder will act as a coun tor-balance to the other side, and that consequently but little power will be required to either open or close it, thus enabling it to be done easily andjquickly. In order to hold it in the closed position, I pivot to one of the bars, .0, a latch, l, which is arranged to catch over a pin, a, on the other bar, B, as shown in Figs. 2 and tached in Fig. 4. In order to enable persons in the building to release this latch whenever required I attach to it a wire or small rod, a,

3, the latch itself being shown dewhich extends down along the side of the bar to which the latch is pivoted, and which is provided with a handle, f, oppositethewindow "of each story, except the lower one, so

that a person inside by raising the sash can at once release the'latch, and by merely pull- L'll ing down. on the bar adjust the ladder for use.

It is obvious that, if preferred, the yokes may be pivoted a little one side of the center, in which case the ladder would open and assume the properposition for use automatically,

' the only difference being that a little more.

power would be required to raise it to the closed position again. I consider this plan preferable, because there is always greathurry and confusion in case of a fire, and it would enable a child even to put the ladder in position for use by merely pulling the rod a, so as to release the latch. So, too,it is obvious that,

. instead oi'the pivoted latch l, a spring-catch may be used, and, if found necessary, a lever may be connected to the rod, so as to operate on the spring-catch, and thus release it with less power, thus enabling children to operateit.

As one side bar will move up and the other down as the ladder opens, and as both are pivoted to the arms of the pivoted yokes, it is necessary that some means be provided for securing the parts rigidly in position when opened for use, as otherwisc,if personsin passing up or down a ladder should bring their weight to either side it would cause the ladder to close, thus rendering it of no use. This may be provided for in various ways. One of the simplest plans is'to arrange-the ladder as shown in Fig. 1that is, to so locate it that when released the bar that moves downward, which in this case is the bar 0, will rest upon the pavement orfon any solid projection of the wall, or on any solid plate, lug, or bar in-.

serted in the wall at the proper point. It is obvious that the ladder could be used in that condition, provided the persons were careful to keep their weight on that side; but as'in the hurry and confusion of a fire people would not stop to consider that necessity, or might notbe aware of it, I provide the other bar, B, with a weigh ted hook or catch, 6, as shown enlarged in Fig.5, which has its point beveled or inclined, so that as the bar rises the hook will strike against a bolt, 0, projecting from the wall at the proper point, as indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and be tipped, as indicated in dotted lines in. Fig. 5, so as to pass thebolt 0, and then, being-brought back to its normal position by gravity, will cause its hooked end to engage upon the bolt 0, thus locking both barsB and O rigidly in position. It is obvious that, instead of this pivoted hook 6, springcatches (more or less in number) may be used and made to catch on bolts located at suitable positions on the wall, these being mere mechanical details, which may be varied at will of the .construc'ter.

While I have described the ladder as being 1 secured to the building by means of the pivoted yokes I, it is obvious that they may be dispensed with by merely enlarging two "or more of the rounds and making a hole through them, asshown at D, Fig. 2, and then pivot.-

E would necessarily occupy a position between the side bars, B (J, the latter could not be brought close together unless the adjoining edges of the side bars should have recesses cut or formed in them at the points where they would come opposite the boltsE when closed. This may be done, it"desired, and in'some cases I propose to so make and arrange the parts, though as a general rule I consider the use of the yokes preferable. So, too, it is obvious that the rod or cord at, for releasing the catch 1, may be arranged inside of the building, so as to be accessible on each floor, and thus prevent burglars or othersfrom using or tampering with it, this being. a matter of choice to be determined by the owner or occupant of the building.

From theforegoin g description the mannerof using the device will be-readily understood, it only being necessary, in case of a fire, to seize the handle on either story and give it a pull. That will release the latch I, when, it the ladder be eccentrically pivoted, as described, it will instantly and automatically assume the open position, ready for use; or, if it be evenly balanced, it will require but a slight effort to make it assume the proper position by pulling down the bar 0, which can easily be done by a woman or a child of any. considerable size.

By these means I obviate the objections to the use of open stationary ladders, which so disfigure the fronts of buildings in cities, and at the same time-I prevent thieves and burglars from making use of the fire-escape as a means of gaining access to the building. As the side bars may be made of very light iron or steel, especially if made in the form shown or concave, which is equally good for the purpose,

it will be seen that my improved ladder or fire-escape may be applied to buildings with butlittle, if any, more objection than an ordinary lig'htning-rod or rain-spout, which latter it will very much resemble when closed.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim is Y 1. A fire-escape consisting of a collapsible ladder pivoted to the building, substantially as described, whereby one side of said ladder shall be made to serve as a counter-balance to the other side, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with ajointed or collapsible ladder, the pivoted yokes I, or equivalentmeans for securing said ladder to a building, substantially as described, whereby itcan be opened and closed with ease, as set forth.

3. In combination with a jointed ladder pivoted to operate as described, the latch Z, or equivalent device for holding or fastening the side bars together, as set forth.

4. In combination with a jointed ladder pivoted to open and close, as described, the catch 6, or equivalent device for looking or securing 278,301 i i a 3 the ladder rigidly in position when opened, as the parts when desired for use and a catch or set forth. devieefor holding it securely in position, all j 5. A fire-escape consisting of a jointed ladsubstantially as herein set forth.

y fderlpivoted so that one of its side bars shall DAVID WELSH.

i 5 rise and the other fall in opening or closing, Witnesses: provided with a catch having a rod or cord VWALTER S. DODGE,

f extending to the several stories for releasing H. J. SCHNEIDER. 

